2 killed in market in northeast Nigeria city

Police say gunmen have shot dead two traders in the largest market of a northeast Nigerian city beset by sectarian violence.

Samuel Tize, a Borno state police spokesman, said the attack occurred Thursday in Maiduguri, the spiritual home of the Boko Haram radical Islamist sect. He said nothing was stolen.

Tize declined to say who police suspect. However, Boko Haram has been blamed for similar attacks.

Nigeria's attorney general announced Wednesday that the government was lifting a six-month-old state of emergency in Borno and other states most affected by the growing Islamist insurgency. It had allowed authorities to make arrests without proof and conduct searches without warrants.

Tize said the security presence has not been reduced.

Authorities have blamed Boko Haram for more than 630 deaths this year alone.